Aeroflot Flight 244

Aeroflot Flight 244
Hijacking
An Aeroflot Antonov An-24, similar to the one involved in the hijacking
Date	15 October 1970
Summary	Hijacking
Site	en route
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Antonov An-24b
Operator	Aeroflot
Registration	СССР-46256
Flight origin	Batumi, Adjar ASSR, Georgian SSR
Stopover	Sukhumi
Destination	Krasnodar
Passengers	45^[1]
Crew	4
Fatalities	1
Injuries	3
Survivors	49

Aeroflot Flight 244 was hijacked on 15 October 1970, making it the first known successful airline hijacking in the Soviet Union.^[2]^[3]

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Synopsis

Lithuanian Pranas Brazinskas and his 13-year-old son Algirdas seized an An-24 domestic passenger plane en route from Batumi, Adjar ASSR, Georgian SSR, to Sukhumi and Krasnodar to defect to the West. Pranas had been sentenced twice by the Soviet authorities in 1955 and 1965 for financial crimes related to state-run shops where he worked.^[4] They selected seats closest to the cockpit in the cabin. Five minutes after takeoff while the aircraft was at an altitude of 800 meters, they called over the flight attendant Nadezhda Kurchenko and demanded control of the aircraft in a threatening note. Kurchenko tried to block the entrance to the cockpit but failed, yelling out that the two were armed shortly before the hijackers shot her twice at point blank range, killing her.^[5]

Several members of the crew were wounded in the onboard shootout. Pranas Brazinskas claimed the shootout occurred because of resistance from two armed guards on board.^[6] According to Russian media, the shootout was started by Brazinskas when the flight attendant ran to the cockpit to warn the pilots, and there were no guards on board.^[2] The hijackers commandeered the plane to Trabzon, Turkey, and surrendered to the Turkish government.^{[citation needed]}

Aftermath

The Brazinskas were tried and imprisoned,^{[clarification needed]} but Turkey refused to extradite them to the Soviet authorities.^[7] The plane with its passengers was soon returned to the USSR. After spending some time^{[clarification needed]} in prison, the Brazinskas were granted amnesty^[why?] in 1974 and made their way to Venezuela and finally^[when?] to the United States. They were initially arrested but later allowed to apply for asylum.^[when?]^[8]

The Soviet Union condemned the United States for granting asylum to murderers and pressed for their extradition. Up until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet government continued to press for the extradition of the Brazinskas, and regularly assailed what they alleged was American hypocrisy in harboring terrorists who attack the aircraft of socialist countries, while pursuing very different actions against terrorists who attacked American nationals, such as in the Achille Lauro case.^[9]

In 2002, Algirdas (now known as Albert Victor White) was convicted in Santa Monica of murdering his 77-year-old father Pranas (by then known as Frank White) during a family argument.^[6]^[10]

After the hijacking, flight number 244 was still in use, even after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current flight departs from Moscow to Mahé, Seychelles.^[11]

References

^ Pranas Brazinskas: unknown side of life (in Lithuanian). Balsas.lt. November 16, 2001
^ ^a ^b Korobeinikov, Dmitry (5 December 2003), Dead on Arrival. Pravda.ru
^ Scott, Erik R. (2018). "The Hijacking of Aeroflot Flight 244: States and Statelessness in the Late Cold War". Past & Present. 243: 213–245. doi:10.1093/pastj/gty044.
^ "Bloody end to story of legendary hijackers".
^ Gubarev, O. Воздушный террор: хроника преступлений. М., Вече, 2006. pgs. 114-116
^ ^a ^b 1970 Hijacker Convicted of Murdering Father. Los Angeles Times. November 2, 2002
^ Krasnov, Vladislav (1986), Soviet defectors: the KGB wanted list, p. 125. Hoover Press, ISBN 0-8179-8231-0, ISBN 978-0-8179-8231-7
^ Eric Malnic (February 9, 2002). "Hijackers' Saga: Dad Slain, Son Arrested". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
^ Ginsburgs, George and Rubinstein, Alvin Z (1993), Russia and America: from rivalry to reconciliation, p. 171. M.E. Sharpe,
^ Hijackers' Saga: Dad Slain, Son Arrested. Los Angeles Times. February 9, 2002.
^ [1]. flightaware.com

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1970

Jan 5

Spantax Convair crash

Feb 2

Cornfield Bomber crash landing

Feb 4

Aerolineas Argentinas Flight 707

Feb 4

TAROM Flight 35

Feb 6

Aeroflot Flight U-45

Feb 15

Dominicana DC-9 disaster

Feb 21

Swissair Flight 330

Mar 17

Eastern Air Lines Shuttle Flight 1320

Mar 31

Japan Airlines Flight 351

Apr 1

Aeroflot Flight 1661

Apr 1

Berrechid crash

Apr 21

Philippine Airlines Flight 215

May 2

ALM Flight 980

May 15

Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair

Jul 3

Dan-Air Flight 1903

Jul 5

Air Canada Flight 621

Jul 18

Soviet Air Force Antonov An-22

Jul 22

Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking

Jul 27

Flying Tiger Line Flight 45

Aug 9

LANSA Flight 502

Aug 12

China Airlines Flight 206

Sep 2

Aeroflot Flight 3630

Sep 6

Dawson's Field hijackings

Sep 8

Trans International Airlines Flight 863

Sep 26

Icelandair Flugfélag Islands Flight 704

Oct 2

Wichita State Univ football team

Oct 15

Aeroflot Flight 244

Nov 14

Southern Airways Flight 932

Nov 27

Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26

1969 ◄ ► 1971

Aviation accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union

1930s	Osoaviakhim-1 SSSR-V6 Osoaviakhim
1940s	1948 Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 crash
1950s	1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash LOT Polish Airlines Flight 232 1957 Kiev mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 04 1958 Aeroflot Tu-104 Kanash crash Aeroflot Flight 315 (1959) Aeroflot Flight 120 Aeroflot Flight 200
1960s	Aeroflot Flight 315 (1960) U-2 incident Aeroflot Flight 207 RB-47 shootdown incident Aeroflot Flight 036 Austrian Airlines Flight 901 Aeroflot Flight 068 Aeroflot Flight 245 Aeroflot Flight 902 Aeroflot Flight 415 Aeroflot Flight 213 (1962) Aeroflot Flight 191 Aeroflot Flight 03 Aeroflot Flight 25 Aeroflot Flight 012 Aeroflot Flight 366 Aeroflot Flight 663 Aeroflot Flight 721 Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 Aeroflot Flight 542 Aeroflot Flight 513 Aeroflot Flight 99 Aeroflot Flight 065 Aeroflot Flight 2723 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1967) Aeroflot Flight 2230 Aeroflot Flight L-51 Aeroflot Flight 15 Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253A 1969 Yukhnov mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight N-826
1970s	Aeroflot Flight U-45 Aeroflot Flight 1661 Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair Aeroflot Flight 3630 Aeroflot Flight 244 22 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash 31 January 1971 Surgut Aeroflot Antonov An-12 crash Aeroflot Flight 1969 Aeroflot Flight 1912 Malév Flight 110 Aeroflot Flight 773 Aeroflot Flight N-63 Aeroflot Flight 2174 Aeroflot Flight 1491 Aeroflot Flight 558 Aeroflot Flight 1036 Aeroflot Flight 217 Japan Air Lines Flight 446 Aeroflot Flight 6263 Aeroflot Flight 141 Aeroflot Flight 630 Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 307 Aeroflot Flight 6551 Aeroflot Flight 109 Aeroflot Flight A-13 Aeroflot Flight 3932 Aeroflot Flight 964 Aeroflot Flight 19 Aeroflot Flight 2022 1974 Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash 1974 Surgut mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2003 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1976) Aeroflot Flight 909 Aeroflot Flight 1802 Aeroflot Flight A-53 Aeroflot Flight 418 1976 Anapa mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 2415 Aeroflot Flight N-36 Aeroflot Flight 3843 Aeroflot Flight 5003 (1977) 1977 Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-134 hijacking Aeroflot Flight B-2 Aeroflot Flight 6709 Korean Air Lines Flight 902 1978 Yegoryevsk Tu-144 crash Iranian Chinook shootdown Aeroflot Flight 1080 Aeroflot Flight 1691 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5484
1980s– Dec. 1991	Aeroflot Flight 4225 1981 Pushkin Tu-104 crash Aeroflot Flight 498 1981 Armenia mid-air collision 1981 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 811 Aeroflot Flight 3603 Aeroflot Flight 8641 Aeroflot Flight 411 Aeroflot Flight 5463 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Aeroflot Flight 601 Aeroflot Flight 3352 Aeroflot Flight 3519 Aeroflot Flight 7841 1985 Zolochiv mid-air collision Aeroflot Flight 5143 Aeroflot Flight 101/435 Aeroflot Flight 2306 Aeroflot Flight 6502 Aeroflot Flight U-505 Aeroflot Flight N-528 Aeroflot Flight 699 Aeroflot Flight 3739 (1988) 1988 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crash An-24 crash in Navoiy Aeroflot Flight 8556

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Georgia (country)
Aeroflot Flight 207 (June 1960) Aeroflot Flight 663 (August 1963) Aeroflot Flight 244 (October 1970) Aeroflot Flight 6833 (November 1983) Russian Air Force Mi-8 shootdown (December 1992)* Sukhumi airliner attacks (September 1993)* Gudauri helicopter crash (July 2022)
This includes accidents in the Georgian SSR and post-independence Georgia * refers to accidents and incidents that took place in Abkhazia.

This page was last edited on 21 March 2024, at 16:12

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